Luton Town were relegated from the Premier League after finishing six points below the red line. The club has now admitted that they could have spent more money in an attempt to avoid relegation.
Record revenues – but relegation still
Last night, “The Hatters” published their financial results for the year ending June 30, 2024. The figures showed record high turnover and profits thanks to promotion to the Premier League for the first time in over 30 years.
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The club reported an operating profit of £48.8 million, after making £16 million in losses the previous year. These funds have already been spent on:
- Kenilworth Road Home Ground Upgrades
- Improvements to the training facilities
- New office space
The rest has been set aside for investments in the academy and the development of the new stadium on the Power Court.
Regrets about the January window The
club spent over £25 million on new players to compete in the Premier League. But a strategy report from the board suggests that they should have invested more in January to avoid the relegation battle.
Japanese Daiki Hashioka was the only January signing to get significant playing time, but he only started six games. An injury crisis meant that Luton only took six points from their last 16 games and finished in 18th place.
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The report states:
“In retrospect, perhaps the club should have reinforced more. From the new year, the season was ruined by injuries, with several key players out for a long time. We had 11 players injured in a single matchweek – the highest number in the 2023-24 Premier League. 18 out of 26 players were injured at one point, many in the second half of the season, which ruined our relegation chances.”
Economic boom – but challenges await
Turnover increased from £18.4 million to £132.3 million thanks to the promotion. But running costs also skyrocketed – from £39.5 million to almost £85 million – after the play-off final win against Coventry.
Luton set transfer records several times with signings such as:
- Tahith Chong (Birmingham)
- Ryan Giles (Wolves)
- Thomas Kaminski (Blackburn)
- Jacob Brown (Stoke)
In addition, they brought in free players such as Tim Krul, Andros Townsend and Ross Barkley – who was named player of the year.
In January, Matt Bloomfield was brought in as manager to reverse a negative trend, it has not worked and the points collection is slacker than in a long time.
New relegation battle underway
Now Luton face the risk of two relegations in a row. They sit 23rd in the Championship, three points from safety, with the second-worst goal difference in the division.
On Saturday it will be tough when they take on Leeds who are in second place in the Championship determined to be promoted.
